Liérganes In Cantabria And Its Beautiful Legend Of The Fish Man
At 110 meters above sea level and 27 kilometers from Santander, Liérganes stands out for its sulfurous spa, its palaces and churches. Within the Trasmiera region, in the autonomous community of Cantabria, it is a municipality that you cannot stop going to sometime in your life.
Liérganes and the Miera river
The history of this town is linked to a river of only 41 kilometers that runs between valleys and that rises at an altitude of 1,250 meters. The water courses were and are (I am sure they will also be) fundamental in the life and rural economy of Liérganes. For centuries its forces have been used to grind grain, produce energy or activate bellows.
Crossing the river we can find the Liérganes bridge, built in 1606 using local stone. It has two semicircular arches and is known as a “Roman bridge”. It has been preserved in time despite the floods. It connected with the road to Castilla and was very important to communicate the region with important cities in the region.
Next to the bridge is one of the best preserved mills. It dates from the year 1667 and has a rectangular plan with semicircular arches so that the water can enter and exit. It was used until the end of the 19th century and today it is an interpretation center.
Liérganes and its cannon factory
In 1617 Juan Curtius, a Flemish businessman, leases the Vega mill and builds a forge in Liérganes. Also, buy mountains and a lot of iron. Build the first blast furnaces that for more than two centuries served as producers of cannons and munitions so that Spanish rule could be guaranteed across the sea.
The factory was where the Mercadillo neighborhood stands today. The Casa de los Cañones can still be visited, as well as the Casa de la Generala, located opposite. In addition, there are still remains of the dam that served to channel the river towards the canals that served the artillery, the canyons farm and the mill on the main bridge.
Liérganes and its heritage
Throughout the municipality (which includes 18 population centers and of which Liérganes is the capital) , several monuments have been declared assets of cultural interest. On your walk through this area, be sure to visit the Elsedo palace and museum (in Pámanes), the Cuesta palace (in El Mercadillo), the Rubacalba Cross (in Rubacalba), the Church of San Pedro ad Víncula and the old town. old town of Liérganes.
For their part, the churches of San Sebastián and San Lorenzo Mártir (the latter in Pámanes), the doorway of the Casa de Vega (in Pámanes) and the Fluviarium de Liérganes are attractive.
Liérganes and his fish man
Within the Cantabrian mythology we find this legend, closely related to Liérganes. The fish man was the nickname of Francisco de la Vega Casar. The first time he is called this way is in an account of the Universal Critical Theater and a book was even written about him in 1877.
History says that in the middle of the seventeenth century there lived a couple formed by Francisco de la Vega and María de Casar, with four children. When the father dies, the mother sends her son Francisco to learn the trade of carpenter in Bilbao.
The boy goes swimming with some friends and is carried away by the current. No one else knows about his whereabouts. Five years later, in Cádiz, a group of fishermen claimed that they saw a fish with a human appearance. This apparition is repeated several times until they finally capture him and realize that it was a man with fish scales.
He was taken to the San Francisco convent for questioning. The only word he says is “Liérganes. ” The friar accompanies him to the Vega house and his mother recognizes him. Nine years later it goes out to sea and disappears forever.
You can take a walk along the Paseo del Hombre Fish, on the banks of the Miera River, and relive this legend by seeing the statue of the boy looking towards the water.
Liérganes is a beautiful municipality where history, traditions and legends are mixed. A perfect place to enjoy, relax and stroll through its beautiful surroundings.
